Lift paltry allowances and help people into paid work

ACOSS Resources

Could you live on $36 a day? That’s how much people unfortunate enough to find themselves out of work have to depend on - to put a roof over their heads, feed and clothe themselves, and get around as they try and find paid work – just $246 per week.

ACOSS leads fight for increase to Newstart

ACOSS has spearheaded a long battle by Australia's community welfare sector for an increase to below poverty line income support payments like Newstart and Youth Allowance that are driving people into worsening poverty.

May 1, 2013 - More than forty prominent Australians and leading heads of charities, unions, and national community welfare organisations, have united to sign an Open Letter to the Federal Government, calling for an increase in income support allowance payments in the May Budget.

The Open Letter, organised by the Australian Council of Social Service, calls on the Australian Government to increase the single rate of Newstart and other allowances and index these payments to wages, to address growing poverty in Australia.

ACOSS National Conference Newstart Resolution

March 26, 2013 - More than 400 participants of the 2013 ACOSS National Conference have today passed a resolution calling on the federal parliament of Australia to urgently legislate for a $50 increase in the single rate of Newstart and other low paying allowances.

The resolution reads:

‘Participants of the 2013 ACOSS National Conference unanimously call on the federal parliament of Australia to urgently legislate for a $50 increase in the single rate of Newstart and other low paying allowances.

Allowance payments also need to be indexed to wages as opposed the CPI.

This must be included in this May Budget before the federal election if we are to prevent worsening levels of poverty in our country.

Already one in eight people are living in poverty in Australia, including one in six children.

This is an indictment on our nation and it's in our national interest to take immediate steps to redress this.'

ACOSS Launches Newstart Video at ACOSS Conference

March 26, 2013 - ACOSS launched this Newstart video during it's national conference in Adelaide - share it with friends and your networks!

For a real new start, stop miring people in poverty

While many of us celebrate the festive season, spare a thought for the thousands of single-parent families who have been served a cruel blow at what is supposed to be a happy time of year.

The federal government's decision to move all single parents off parenting payments when their youngest child turns eight has meant about 84,000 of Australia's poorest families saw their benefits cut by as much as $110 a week from January 1. Read Opinion Article

November 29, 2012 - ACOSS said the report of the Senate inquiry into the adequacy of Newstart and other Allowances, released today, adds another voice to the chorus of calls for urgent action to increase these payments for single people.

Although the majority report did not recommend an increase in allowance payments it recognised that they are too low.

ACOSS is pleased that Labor members of the Senate Committee included separate recommendations supporting an increase in payments and changing indexation arrangements so that allowances do not continue to fall further behind pensions. The Australian Greens, who initiated this important Inquiry, made similar recommendations.

Sign the ACOSS statement below!

ACOSS STATEMENT

United call for increase to income support Allowances and improved jobs assistance

Australia’s community sector is calling on the Federal Government to make improving the income and job prospects of people out of paid work a top priority for 2012.

There is a growing consensus in the wider community, ranging from business organisations, economists, the union movement, to the broad community and social services sector that the current rate of single Allowance payments is simply not enough for people to live on and is hindering their efforts to find paid work.

With no employment growth last year and the profile of people out of paid work becoming more disadvantaged (people with low skills, long periods out of paid work, disabilities, and of mature age) many will find it hard to secure a job without more help from employment services.

Australia will need to employ more of its unemployed workers as the population ages and labour shortages increase over the medium term, but we don’t do enough to prepare them for employment. Job Services Australia providers are typically funded to offer an interview every two months and just $500-$1000 worth of training or work experience for each person looking for paid work long term.

If labour shortages become more widespread in the next few years, Australia will have a unique opportunity to meet economic and social needs at the same time by dealing with the problem of entrenched unemployment.

The signatories urge the Government to increase Allowance payments for singles by $50 per week as recommended by the Henry Report and to strengthen its investment in employment services. Far from being a disincentive to find work, increasing the level of allowance payments will help lift a great many out of poverty and put them in a better position to participate in paid work.

Currently more than 575,000 people are living on the Newstart Allowance which is as low as $35 a day for a single adult, and 60% have lived on this payment for over a year. Altogether, over one million people rely on this and similar ‘Allowance’ payments.

By implementing the following measures, the Government will reduce the high social and fiscal costs of long-term unemployment and strengthen its employment participation agenda.

As a group, the signatories to this Statement call for:

Increase Allowance payments - Increase the single rate of allowance payments by $50 per week. These include Newstart Allowance, Youth Allowance, Widow Allowance, Sickness Allowance, Special Benefit, Austudy and ABSTUDY.

Improve employment services for long term unemployed people - The Job Services Australia system should be reformed to make it more responsive to the needs of individual job seekers and employers, including by increasing the resourcing of JSA providers. Providers should receive at least as much funding to provide work experience and training for long-term unemployed people as they do for people unemployed for shorter periods.

Expand wage subsidy schemes - Double the number of places in the new wage subsidy scheme for people out of paid work long term to 20,000 in the program’s second year, and introduce a scheme that fully subsidises up to 6 months of paid employment for the most deeply disadvantaged jobseekers (including through social enterprises).

Make VET work for jobseekers - Earmark a substantial number of training places under the new national VET scheme for jobseekers, together with new incentives and resources for training organisations to adapt training to the needs of jobseekers and work more closely with employment services.

Lock in supports for jobseekers in deeply disadvantaged areas - In areas of high and entrenched levels of unemployment, the Government should negotiate with States and Territories to supplement funding for employment, health, housing and community services to encourage them to work together to build pathways to employment for those with multiple social disadvantages.

ADD YOUR NAME AND SUPPORT AUSTRALIA'S UNEMPLOYED

The more names we can add to this statement the more powerful it will be when we present it to our Federal Parliamentarians in the coming weeks. Please encourage your organisation to add their name to the statement. If you are a member of an organisation that has already signed, please show your individual support by encouraging friends and others to take action on this important issue by adding their names as well.

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